6. As to the name Haris for γ it is not mentioned in Allen: "Seginus appears on Burritt's Atlas from the Ceginus of the constellation. Manilius termed it prona Lycaonia, 'sloping towards, or in front of, Lycaon', referring to the Greater Bear, as the star marks the left shoulder of Boötes, near to that constellation; and Euripides similarly wrote in his Ìων of about 420 B.C.: Above, Arcturus to the golden pole inclines. Flammarion gives to it the Alkalurops that is better recognized for μ. The Chinese called it Heuen Ko, the Heavenly Spear." However, in his discussion regarding the whole Bootes constellation we can read: "Al Hāris al Samā' of Arabic literature originally was for Arcturus, although eventually applied to the constellation. But long before these ideas were current in Arabia, that people are supposed to have had an enormous Lion, their early Asad, extending over a third of the heavens, of which the stars Arcturus and Spica were the shin-bones; Regulus, the forehead; the heads of Gemini, one of the fore paws; Canis Minor, the other; and Corvus, the hind quarters ..." Wikipedia translates Al Hāris al Samā' as 'the Guard'. Furthermore: "In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Menkib al Aoua al Aisr, which was translated into Latin as Humerus Sinister Latratoris, meaning ´'the left shoulder of barker'." Then we have Izar (ε): "... bore these titles in Arabia: Al Mintakah al 'Awwā, the Belt of the Shouter; Izār, the Girdle; and Mi'zar, the Waist-cloth, - all references to its place in the figure. This last word was turned by early European astronomical writers into Micar, Mirar, Merer, Meirer, Mezen, Mezer, Merak, and Mirak, similar to the title of β Andromedae, and all appropriate. The analogous Perizoma was used for it in the Alfonsine Tables. Why it was so favoured in nomenclature is not known, for with us it is noticeable only from its exquisite beauty in the telescope, whence it is fast monopolizing the name Pulcherrima, given to it by the elder Struwe ..." The answer to his question is surely its position, today rising heliacally in the last day of October ('the Eighth Month' - at glyph number 8 * 20 = 160), and 224 (= 14 * 16) days beyond equinox:
A similar bird adorns the G text 183 days beyond equinox:
However, the common denominator seems to be the letter οmikron (like a little egg), in which case it could have been not Izar but ο Bootis which was foremost in the mind of the creator of the G text. 223.9 - 183.1 = 40.8 (as if an allusion to spring equinox north of the equator). The letter o-mikro (in contrast to o-mega) comes from the Phoenician letter 'ayin: "The letter name is derived from Proto-Semitic *'ayn- 'eye', and the Phoenician letter had an eye-shape, ultimately derived from the hieroglyph  To this day, 'ayin in Hebrew, Arabic and Maltese means 'eye' ('ayno in Assyrian)." (Wikipedia) I remember the star ε Tauri, Ain:
The name could mean 'eye', I thought. A quick look in Wikipedia supports my idea, because another name for ε Tauri is Oculus Borealis. But there are 2 small 'eyes' dangling at left in the tagata figure. I search again in Wikipedia but there seems to be no Oculus Australis. The creator of the G text may have remembered. Izar is ε Bootis and epsilon might indicate a pair of eggs (ο and Izar, θ¹ Tauri, θ² Tauri). |
